Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗,"The True Essence of de Pure Land Teaching"[1]), awso known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a schoow of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by de former TendaiJapanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is considered de most widewy practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.

Shinran (1173–1263) wived during de wate-Heian earwy-Kamakura period (1185–1333), a time of turmoiw for Japan when de emperor was stripped of powiticaw power by de shōguns. Shinran's famiwy had a high rank at de Imperiaw court in Kyoto, but given de times, many aristocratic famiwies were sending sons off to be Buddhist monks instead of having dem participate in de Imperiaw government. When Shinran was nine (1181), he was sent by his uncwe to Mount Hiei, where he was ordained as a śrāmaṇera in de Tendai sect. Over time, Shinran became disiwwusioned wif how Buddhism was practiced, foreseeing a decwine in de potency and practicawity of de teachings espoused.

Shinran weft his rowe as a dosō ("practice-haww monk") at Mount Hiei and undertook a 100-day retreat at Rokkaku-dō in Kyoto, where he had a dream on de 95f day. In dis dream, Prince Shōtoku appeared to him, espousing a padway to enwightenment drough verse. Fowwowing de retreat, in 1201, Shinran weft Mount Hiei to study under Hōnen for de next six years. Hōnen (1133–1212) anoder ex-Tendai monk, weft de tradition in 1175 to found his own sect, de Jōdo-shū or "Pure Land Schoow". From dat time on, Shinran considered himsewf, even after exiwe, a devout discipwe of Hōnen rader dan a founder estabwishing his own, distinct Pure Land schoow.

During dis period, Hōnen taught de new nembutsu-onwy practice to many peopwe in Kyoto society and amassed a substantiaw fowwowing but awso came under increasing criticism by de Buddhist estabwishment dere. Among his strongest critics was de monk Myōe and de tempwes of Enryaku-ji and Kōfuku-ji. The watter continued to criticize Hōnen and his fowwowers even after dey pwedged to behave wif good conduct and to not swander oder Buddhists.[2]

In 1207, Hōnen's critics at Kōfuku-ji persuaded Emperor Toba II to forbid Hōnen and his teachings after two of Imperiaw wadies-in-waiting converted to his practices.[2] Hōnen and his fowwowers, among dem Shinran, were forced into exiwe and four of Hōnen's discipwes were executed. Shinran was given a way name, Yoshizane Fujii, by de audorities but cawwed himsewf Gutoku "Stubbwe-headed One" instead and moved to Echigo Province (today Niigata Prefecture).[3]

It was during dis exiwe dat Shinran cuwtivated a deeper understanding of his own bewiefs based on Hōnen's Pure Land teachings. In 1210 he married Eshinni, de daughter of an Echigo aristocrat. Shinran and Eshinni had severaw chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah. His ewdest son, Zenran, was awweged to have started a hereticaw sect of Pure Land Buddhism drough cwaims dat he received speciaw teachings from his fader. Zenran demanded controw of wocaw monto (way fowwower groups), but after writing a stern wetter of warning, Shinran disowned him in 1256, effectivewy ending Zenran's wegitimacy.

In 1211 de nembutsu ban was wifted and Shinran was pardoned, but by 1212, Hōnen had died in Kyoto. Shinran never saw Hōnen fowwowing deir exiwe. In de year of Hōnen's deaf, Shinran set out for de Kantō region, where he estabwished a substantiaw fowwowing and began committing his ideas to writing. In 1224 he wrote his most significant book, de Kyogyoshinsho ("The True Teaching, Practice, Faif and Attainment of de Pure Land"), which contained excerpts from de Three Pure Land sutras and de Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra awong wif his own commentaries[3] and de writings of de Jodo Shinshu Patriarchs Shinran drew inspiration from.

In 1234, at de age of sixty, Shinran weft Kantō for Kyoto (Eshinni stayed in Echigo and she may have outwived Shinran by severaw years), where he dedicated de rest of his years to writing. It was during dis time he wrote de Wasan, a cowwection of verses summarizing his teachings for his fowwowers to recite.

Shinran's daughter, Kakushinni, came to Kyoto wif Shinran, and cared for him in his finaw years and his mausoweum water became Hongan-ji, "Tempwe of de Originaw Vow". Kakushinni was instrumentaw in preserving Shinran's teachings after his deaf, and de wetters she received and saved from her moder, Eshinni, provide criticaw biographicaw information regarding Shinran's earwier wife. These wetters are currentwy preserved in de Nishi Hongan tempwe in Kyoto. Shinran died at de age of 90 in 1263.[3]

Fowwowing Shinran's deaf, de way Shin monto swowwy spread drough de Kantō and de nordeastern seaboard. Shinran's descendants maintained demsewves as caretakers of Shinran's gravesite and as Shin teachers, awdough dey continued to be ordained in de Tendai Schoow. Some of Shinran's discipwes founded deir own schoows of Shin Buddhism, such as de Bukko-ji and Kosho-ji, in Kyoto. Earwy Shin Buddhism did not truwy fwourish untiw de time of Rennyo (1415–1499), who was 8f in descent from Shinran, uh-hah-hah-hah. Through his charisma and prosewytizing, Shin Buddhism was abwe to amass a greater fowwowing and grow in strengf. In de 16f-century, during de Sengoku period de powiticaw power of Honganji wed to severaw confwicts between it and de warword Oda Nobunaga, cuwminating in a ten-year confwict over de wocation of de Ishiyama Hongan-ji, which Nobunaga coveted because of its strategic vawue. So strong did de sect become dat in 1602, drough mandate of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, de main tempwe Hongan-ji in Kyoto was broken off into two sects to curb its power. These two sects, de Nishi (Western) Honganji and de Higashi (Eastern) Honganji, exist separatewy to dis day.

During de time of Shinran, fowwowers wouwd gader in informaw meeting houses cawwed dojo, and had an informaw witurgicaw structure. However, as time went on, dis wack of cohesion and structure caused Jōdo Shinshū to graduawwy wose its identity as a distinct sect, as peopwe began mixing oder Buddhist practices wif Shin rituaw. One common exampwe was de Mantra of Light popuwarized by Myōe and Shingon Buddhism. Oder Pure Land Buddhist practices, such as de nembutsu odori[4] or "dancing nembutsu" as practiced by de fowwowers of Ippen and de Ji Schoow, may have awso been adopted by earwy Shin Buddhists. Rennyo ended dese practices by formawizing much of de Jōdo Shinshū rituaw and witurgy, and revived de dinning community at de Honganji tempwe whiwe asserting newfound powiticaw power. Rennyo awso prosewytized widewy among oder Pure Land sects and consowidated most of de smawwer Shin sects. Today, dere are stiww ten distinct sects of Jōdo Shinshū, Nishi Hongan-ji and Higashi Hongan-ji being de two wargest.

Rennyo is generawwy credited by Shin Buddhists for reversing de stagnation of de earwy Jōdo Shinshū community, and is considered de "Second Founder" of Jōdo Shinshū. His portrait picture, awong wif Shinran's, are present on de onaijin (awtar area) of most Jōdo Shinshū tempwes. However, Rennyo has awso been criticized by some Shin schowars for his engagement in medievaw powitics and his awweged divergences from Shinran's originaw dought. After Rennyo, Shin Buddhism was stiww persecuted in some regions. Secret Shin groups cawwed kakure nenbutsu wouwd meet in mountain caves to perform chanting and traditionaw rituaws.

Fowwowing de unification of Japan during de Edo period, Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism adapted, awong wif de oder Japanese Buddhist schoows, into providing memoriaw and funeraw services for its registered members under de Danka system, which was wegawwy reqwired by de Tokugawa shogunate in order to prevent de spread of Christianity in Japan. The danka seido system continues to exist today, awdough not as strictwy as in de premodern period, causing Japanese Buddhism to awso be wabewed as "Funeraw Buddhism" since it became de primary function of Buddhist tempwes. The Honganji awso created an impressive academic tradition, which wed to de founding of Ryukoku University in Kyoto and formawized many of de Jōdo Shinshū traditions which are stiww fowwowed today.

Fowwowing de Meiji Restoration and de subseqwent persecution of Buddhism (haibutsu kishaku) of de wate 1800s due to a revived nationawism and modernization, Jōdo Shinshū managed to survive intact due to de devotion of its monto. During Worwd War II, de Honganji, as wif de oder Japanese Buddhist schoows, was compewwed to support de powicies of de miwitary government and de cuwt of State Shinto. It subseqwentwy apowogized for its wartime actions.[5]

Shinran's dought was strongwy infwuenced by de doctrine of Mappō, a wargewy Mahayana eschatowogy which cwaims humanity's abiwity to wisten to and practice de Buddhist teachings deteriorates over time and woses effectiveness in bringing individuaw practitioners cwoser to Buddhahood. This bewief was particuwarwy widespread in earwy medievaw China and in Japan at de end of de Heian, uh-hah-hah-hah. Shinran, wike his mentor Hōnen, saw de age he was wiving in as being a degenerate one where beings cannot hope to be abwe to extricate demsewves from de cycwe of birf and deaf drough deir own power, or jiriki (自力). For bof Hōnen and Shinran, aww conscious efforts towards achieving enwightenment and reawizing de Bodhisattva ideaw were contrived and rooted in sewfish ignorance; for humans of dis age are so deepwy rooted in karmic eviw as to be incapabwe of devewoping de truwy awtruistic compassion dat is reqwisite to becoming a Bodhisattva.

Due to his awareness of human wimitations, Shinran advocates rewiance on tariki, or oder power (他力)—de power of Amitābha (Japanese Amida) made manifest in his Primaw Vow—in order to attain wiberation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Shin Buddhism can derefore be understood as a "practicewess practice," for dere are no specific acts to be performed such as dere are in de "Paf of Sages". In Shinran's own words, Shin Buddhism is considered de "Easy Paf" because one is not compewwed to perform many difficuwt, and often esoteric, practices in order to attain higher and higher mentaw states.

As in oder Pure Land Buddhist schoows, Amitābha is a centraw focus of de Buddhist practice, and Jōdo Shinshū expresses dis devotion drough a chanting practice cawwed nembutsu, or "Mindfuwness of de Buddha [Amida]. The nembutsu is simpwy reciting de phrase Namu Amida Butsu ("I take refuge in Amitābha Buddha"). Jōdo Shinshū is not de first schoow of Buddhism to practice de nembutsu but it is interpreted in a new way according to Shinran, uh-hah-hah-hah. The nembutsu becomes understood as an act dat expresses gratitude to Amitābha; furdermore, it is evoked in de practitioner drough de power of Amida's unobstructed compassion, uh-hah-hah-hah. Therefore, in Shin Buddhism, de nembutsu is not considered a practice, nor does it generate karmic merit. It is simpwy an affirmation of one's gratitude. Indeed, given dat de nembutsu is de Name, when one utters de Name, dat is Amitābha cawwing to de devotee. This is de essence of de Name-dat-cawws.[6]

Note dat dis is in contrast to de rewated Jōdo-shū, which promoted a combination of repetition of de nembutsu and devotion to Amitābha as a means to birf in his pure wand of Sukhavati. It awso contrasts wif oder Buddhist schoows in China and Japan, where nembutsu recitation was part of a more ewaborate rituaw.

In anoder departure from more traditionaw Pure Land schoows, Shinran advocated dat birf in de Pure Land was settwed in de midst of wife. At de moment one entrusts onesewf to Amitābha, one becomes 'estabwished in de stage of de truwy settwed'. This is eqwivawent to de stage of non-retrogression awong de bodhisattva paf.

Many Pure Land Buddhist schoows in de time of Shinran fewt dat birf in de Pure Land was a witeraw rebirf dat occurred onwy upon deaf, and onwy after certain prewiminary rituaws. Ewaborate rituaws were used to guarantee rebirf in de Pure Land, incwuding a common practice wherein de fingers were tied by strings to a painting or image of Amida Buddha. From de perspective of Jōdo Shinshū such rituaws actuawwy betray a wack of trust in Amida Buddha, rewying on jiriki ("sewf-power"), rader dan de tariki or "oder-power" of Amida Buddha. Such rituaws awso favor dose who couwd afford de time and energy to practice dem or possess de necessary rituaw objects—anoder obstacwe for wower-cwass individuaws. For Shinran Shonin, who cwosewy fowwowed de dought of de Chinese monk Tan-wuan, de Pure Land is synonymous wif nirvana.

The goaw of de Shin paf, or at weast de practicer's present wife, is de attainment of shinjin in de Oder Power of Amida. Shinjin is sometimes transwated as "faif", but dis does not capture de nuances of de term and it is more often simpwy weft untranswated.[7] The receipt of shinjin comes about drough de renunciation of sewf-effort in attaining enwightenment drough tariki. It shouwd be noted, however, dat shinjin arises from jinen (自然 naturawness, spontaneous working of de Vow) and cannot be achieved sowewy drough conscious effort. One is wetting go of conscious effort in a sense, and simpwy trusting Amida Buddha, and de nembutsu.

For Jōdo Shinshū practitioners, shinjin devewops over time drough "deep hearing" (monpo) of Amitābha's caww of de nembutsu. According to Shinran, "to hear" means "dat sentient beings, having heard how de Buddha's Vow arose - its origin and fuwfiwwment -, are awtogeder free of doubt."[8]Jinen awso describes de way of naturawness whereby Amitābha's infinite wight iwwumines and transforms de deepwy rooted karmic eviw of countwess rebirds into good karma. It is of note dat such eviw karma is not destroyed but rader transformed: Shin stays widin de Mahayana tradition's understanding of śūnyatā and understands dat samsara and nirvana are not separate. Once de practicer's mind is united wif Amitābha and Buddha-nature gifted to de practicer drough shinjin, de practicer attains de state of non-retrogression, whereupon after his deaf it is cwaimed he wiww achieve instantaneous and effortwess enwightenment. He wiww den return to de worwd as a Bodhisattva, dat he may work towards de sawvation of aww beings.

The Tannishō is a 13f-century book of recorded sayings attributed to Shinran, transcribed wif commentary by Yuien-bo, a discipwe of Shinran, uh-hah-hah-hah. The word Tannishō is a phrase which means "A record [of de words of Shinran] set down in wamentation over departures from his [Shinran's] teaching". Whiwe it is a short text, it is one of de most popuwar because practitioners see Shinran in a more informaw setting.

For centuries, de text was awmost unknown to de majority of Shin Buddhists. In de 15f century, Rennyo, Shinran's descendant, wrote of it, "This writing is an important one in our tradition, uh-hah-hah-hah. It shouwd not be indiscriminatewy shown to anyone who wacks de past karmic good". Rennyo Shonin's personaw copy of de Tannishō is de earwiest extant copy. Kiyozawa Manshi (1863–1903) revitawized interest in de Tannishō, which indirectwy hewped to spawn de Ohigashi schism of 1962.[3]

Earwier schoows of Buddhism dat came to Japan, incwuding Tendai and Shingon Buddhism, gained acceptance because of honji suijaku practices. For exampwe, a kami couwd be seen as a manifestation of a bodhisattva. It is common even to dis day to have Shinto shrines widin de grounds of Buddhist tempwes.

By contrast, Shinran had distanced Jōdo Shinshū from Shinto because he bewieved dat many Shinto practices contradicted de notion of rewiance on Amitābha. However, Shinran taught dat his fowwowers shouwd stiww continue to worship and express gratitude to kami, oder buddhas and bodhisattvas despite de fact dat Amitābha shouwd be de primary buddha dat Pure Land bewievers focus on, uh-hah-hah-hah. [9] Furdermore, under de infwuence of Rennyo and oder priests, Jōdo Shinshū water fuwwy accepted honji suijaku bewiefs and de concept of kami as manifestations of Amida Buddha and oder buddhas and bodhisattvas.[10]

Jōdo Shinshū traditionawwy had an uneasy rewationship wif oder Buddhist schoows because it discouraged de majority of traditionaw Buddhist practices except for de nembutsu. Rewations were particuwarwy hostiwe between de Jōdo Shinshū and Nichiren Buddhism. On de oder hand, newer Buddhist schoows in Japan, such as Zen, tended to have a more positive rewationship and occasionawwy shared practices, awdough dis is stiww controversiaw. In popuwar wore, Rennyo, de 8f Head Priest of de Hongan-ji sect, was good friends wif de famous Zen master Ikkyū.

Jōdo Shinshū drew much of its support from wower sociaw cwasses in Japan who couwd not devote de time or education to oder esoteric Buddhist practices or merit-making activities.

During de 19f century, Japanese immigrants began arriving in Hawaii, de United States, Canada, Mexico and Souf America (especiawwy in Braziw). Many immigrants to Norf America came from regions in which Jōdo Shinshū was predominant, and maintained deir rewigious identity in deir new country. The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, de Buddhist Churches of America and de Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Tempwes of Canada (formerwy Buddhist Churches of Canada) are severaw of de owdest Buddhist organizations outside of Asia. Jōdo Shinshū continues to remain rewativewy unknown outside de ednic community because of de history of Japanese American and Japanese-Canadian internment during Worwd War II, which caused many Shin tempwes to focus on rebuiwding de Japanese-American Shin sangha rader dan encourage outreach to non-Japanese. Today, many Shinshū tempwes outside Japan continue to have predominantwy ednic Japanese members, awdough interest in Buddhism and intermarriage contribute to a more diverse community. There are awso active Jōdo Shinshū sanghas in de United Kingdom,[11]Europe, Austrawia, and Africa, wif members of diverse ednicities.[citation needed]

The practice of Jōdo Shinshū rituaw and witurgy may be very different outside Japan, as many tempwes, wike ones in Hawai'i and de US, now use Engwish as de primary wanguage for Dharma tawks and dere are attempts to create an Engwish-wanguage chanting witurgy. In de United States, Jōdo Shinshū tempwes have awso served as refuges from racism and as pwaces to wearn about and cewebrate Japanese wanguage and cuwture.

The "Seven Patriarchs of Jōdo Shinshū" are seven Buddhist monks venerated in de devewopment of Pure Land Buddhism as summarized in de Jōdo Shinshū hymn Shoshinge. Shinran qwoted de writings and commentaries of de Patriarchs in his major work, de Kyogyoshinsho, to bowster his teachings.

The Seven Patriarchs, in chronowogicaw order, and deir contributions are:[12][13][14][15]

^"Front page". Three Wheews Shin Buddhist House. Retrieved 2 May 2015. In 1994 Shogyoji estabwished Three Wheews ('Sanrin shoja' in Japanese), in London, in response to de deep friendship between a group of Engwish and Japanese peopwe. Since den de Three Wheews community has grown considerabwy and serves as de hub of a wivewy muwti-cuwturaw Shin Buddhist Samgha.